


The Sound of Gentle Thunder

by TheOnlyTarkles



Category: The Transformers (Cartoon Generation One)
Genre: Between Rumble/Frenzy and Soundwave, Comfort, Crying, Darn near everyone cries for a bit in this, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, First Kiss, Hugs, I'm a sucker for tears, Love Confessions, M/M, Pining, Poor Soundwave is just having a bad day, Tender Kissing, Thundercracker is an emotional man, sue me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:34:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28898985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOnlyTarkles/pseuds/TheOnlyTarkles
Summary: Today is just a bad day, but at least there's a bit of sunshine peering through the storm clouds. And that sunshine came with the help of a blue seeker.
Relationships: Soundwave/Thundercracker (Transformers)
Kudos: 17





	The Sound of Gentle Thunder

Thundercracker did his best to stay airborne, though with Soundwave in his hold and his wing gashed it was definitely difficult. On top of that, the tape deck was cradling his seriously injured twins. Thundercracker glanced down at them. Poor Frenzy was unconscious, missing one of his legs from the knee joint down, and had a large crack and dent put in his helm. Rumble had dents and cracks all over his plating and was clutching Frenzy while leaning into Soundwave’s chestpiece, sniffling and leaking rivers of coolant from his optics.

Megatron had sent them along with the two triple changers to a planet to scout out a potential wellspring of energy. The creatures that occupied the planet were less than receptive and much less so gentle. Soundwave and his cassetticons had gone ahead to scout when they landed, leaving Thundercracker, Blitzwing, and Astrotrain to check fuel levels and seek out a safe spot to temporarily camp. After half an hour, Thundercracker received an SOS from Rumble and the seeker promptly snagged Blitzwing and booked it for the beacon emitted soon after.

They arrived on the scene to Soundwave on the ground with a smoking hole in his back, kneeling over the twins and Buzzsaw protectively as a couple natives hurled attacks at them. Thundercracker and Blitzwing joined in the fray and began beating back the attackers, however more of them swiftly joined in the fight. At that point, the new plan became: fall back. Thundercracker grabbed Soundwave and the cassetticons and took off while Blitzwing took up the rear to play decoy to give them time. They couldn’t just head straight back for Astrotrain and the temporary camp, though. They were being followed, TC was sure of it, so with Soundwave’s permission he sent Buzzsaw ahead to scout out a hiding spot.

A particularly strong gust of wind suddenly blew from behind, throwing Thundercracker off balance and making Soundwave tense while Rumble yelped. The seeker gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on them while flailing his legs in an attempt to right themselves again. After a few moments, the gust petered out and Thundercracker regained his balance.

“It’s alright,” he reassured. “We’re alright. Sorry.”

The mechs in his arms didn’t relax. Where was Buzzsaw? They needed to land. As if in response, Buzzsaw’s caw sounded from ahead of them and the little condor emerged from a treeline. A forest. It would have to do.

Thundercracker flew over to where the bird was circling, then carefully followed him down to the forest floor below, landing as gently as he could. Once on the ground, he took a moment to survey the area, which gave Buzzsaw time to land on his shoulder and perch. He turned his head to the bird and watched as he craned his neck forward to check on Soundwave. The host slowly raised a servo to stroke the underside of the bird’s neck.

In the distance behind them, shouting and screeching could be heard. Thundercracker narrowed his optics and pressed forward. Shelter. There had to be somewhere in this forest that would make decent cover. And then there was Blitzwing, as well. The seeker began transmitting his beacon for the triple changer to follow as he continued searching. After a few minutes of walking, Soundwave spoke up.

“ **There**.” He pointed to a rock formation off to their left, within it an alcove just large enough for them to duck into.

Thundercracker changed course and made a beeline straight for it, and once within, he knelt down and carefully set Soundwave on the ground before he began rummaging around in his subspace for his first-aid kit.

Soundwave shifted his hold on his younglings so as to get a better look at their conditions.

“S-Soundwave,” Rumble choked out, “I’m sorry…” He broke out into fresh sobs and hid his face in his servos. “I’m so sorry…!”

Soundwave gently moved Rumble’s servos with one of his own and used a thumb to wipe away the young one’s tears. “ **Shhh** ,” he soothed. “ **A** **n honest mistake**. **We all slip up from time to time**.”

“Who do you want me to tend first, Soundwave?” Thundercracker asked, looking from Rumble to Frenzy.

The communications officer carefully set down the red and black twin in front of him and hugged Rumble close, stroking the other twin’s head tenderly. “ **Frenzy first**.”

“Yes sir.” The seeker got to work patching the open wiring of the cassetticon’s leg. It would have been easier if he had proper tools like back at the base, but Thundercracker did the best he could, relying on his experiences with helping Soundwave fix up the twins’ past injuries. Primus, Frenzy had definitely seen better days. The Autobots were much gentler with him than these savages.

Heavy footsteps sounded from outside. It was definitely mechanical, but it was hard to tell if it was a friend or foe. Thundercracker paused his work to glance over his shoulder. Buzzsaw moved toward the entrance to keep watch and Soundwave motioned for the seeker to continue working before pulling out his blaster and aiming it at the hollow entrance.

Thundercracker resumed his patchwork on Frenzy. It was funny. The “weird” funny. He was a decent kid, but when he was online and running around, he could be borderline infuriating to work with. Impulsive, reckless, quick to talk back. There had even been an embarrassing time when the cassetticon and his brother beat up on the blue seeker for looking at Soundwave the wrong way. Despite all that, seeing him in a state like this… Thundercracker wasn’t the cassetticons’ sire or host, but the sight of these youngling broken and—in Rumble’s case—crying evoked feelings of protection and mild anger within him.

A few tense moments later, Blitzwing came stumbling into view outside.

“ **Were you followed**?” Soundwave checked, keeping his gun up.

The triple changer shook his head as he approached. “Lost those lunkheads over a mountain.” He stopped at the entrance and waited for the mechs inside to create space for him, then proceeded to enter and fall back onto his aft with a grunt. “Mother fragger, those organics don’t pull their punches,” he grumbled, rubbing several dents in his plating. “What set them off?”

“We were checking out one of their mines,” Rumble sniffled, wiping his tear stained cheeks with the back of his servo. “There was a part that looked flat and stable, b-but when I walked on it, the ground collapsed and there was a tunnel below full of ‘em, and I… I crushed one when I fell…”

“Holy heterodyne. And that was enough to set them off?” Blitzwing muttered, glancing at Frenzy. “Hey, did Megatron— Oh wait, Thundercracker. That reminds me.” The large mech opened up his subspace and reached in, producing Frenzy’s torn off leg. He leaned over and held it out in offering to the seeker. “I had just enough time to snatch it away from the organic trash that had it.”

“Thank _Primus_ you found this,” Thundercracker breathed with relief, taking the leg and inspecting it. “Building him a new one would have been a pain for him and us. Thanks, Blitz.”

Blitzwing watched as Thundercracker got to work reattaching Frenzy’s leg. “So as I was asking. Did Megatron know this planet had those things?”

“ **Negative**. **Megatron knew only of the energy readings radiating from the planet** ,” Soundwave answered.

“So what are we gonna do about those things? We can’t go back empty-handed.”

“ **Do not engage** ,” the communications officer ordered. “ **Too much risk**. **Continue to scout for potential harvest spots**.”

The triple changer sighed and got back to his feet. “Astrotrain’s probably bumming around,” he grumbled to no one in particular.

“ **Comm him and deliver orders to assist the search** ,” Soundwave replied stiffly. “ **None are exempt from collection duty**.”

“Yes sir.” With that, Blitzwing carefully maneuvered around the others and left, transforming once away from the hollow and taking off.

Thundercracker finished up his patchwork on Frenzy and looked him over. It wasn’t anything impressive like the Autobot medibots pulled off for their team, but it would have to do, given the circumstances. He was at least still online. He glanced at Soundwave as the communications officer set down Rumble just beside him and reclaimed Frenzy. “Alright, Rumble,” Thundercracker said gently. “What hurts the most?”

The purple cassetticon pointed to a few different spots, not looking up at him, and held still as the seeker got to work patching him up. He was unnaturally quiet for most of the job until near the end. “Thanks, Thundercracker…” He whispered, throwing the plane off guard.

“For what?” He asked with genuine surprise.

“For responding to the call and fixing us,” Rumble answered, throwing Soundwave and Frenzy a glance.

“I’m not just gonna ignore a distress signal, Rumble,” Thundercracker said almost matter-of-factly. “I’ll always respond to you guys.” The look of appreciation he got from the little mech in front of him made the seeker’s spark throb happily. He returned the look by giving Rumble a warm smile, then turned to Soundwave, who was watching them silently. It was impossible to tell what he was feeling behind that mask and visor of his, but the seeker could only hope he was approving of the interaction. “Your turn, sir.”

Soundwave didn’t move until Buzzsaw flew over and squawked sharply at him. Then he shifted away from the wall and turned his back to Thundercracker, revealing the gaping hole and the sparking and broken circuitry within.

The seeker got to work repairing what damage he could, but he knew full well he wouldn’t be able to fix the most glaring issue. Soundwave’s anti-gravity apparatus had been a part of the seriously damaged components within that area, rendering him grounded for the time being. “I can get some of the simpler circuitry reconnected, but you’ll need more work done back at base.”

“ **Only do what you can** ,” was all Soundwave said.

So Thundercracker did.

The rest of the mission was a flop. From there, Thundercracker escorted Soundwave back to the temporary camp, then the two split in search of the supposed wellspring of energy. Hours of fruitless searching went by and when they all finally rejoined and found a lead, their spirits died upon finding out the place was built in the center of an underground city _full_ of those mad creatures. Low on energy and not finding it worth it to try and get even a sample, Soundwave reluctantly gave the order to retreat back to their earth base.

The ride back was miserably silent with the exception of Blitzwing and Astrotrain making small bursts of chatter every now and again. When they got back to base, Soundwave sent Rumble and Frenzy with Thundercracker and Blitzwing to finish getting repaired while the communications officer went to report to Megatron. The warm reception he received from the commander quickly died when Soundwave reported their failure to him.

Megatron widened his optics with fury. “Failed?!” He bellowed. “You failed to retrieve the energy we needed because of some _organics_?!”

“ **Said organics proved to be more powerful than anticipated** ,” Soundwave said flatly, not so much as flinching from his leader’s rage.

“My sine function!” Megatron snarled. “They’re a lesser race! They can easily be _crushed_ under your heel! And you let them get the better of you?!”

“ **Apologies** , **mighty Megatron** ,” the communications officer murmured, lowering his head. “ **Had any attempts at harvesting been made** , **sparks would have been lost**. **The e** **nergy wellspring was—** ”

Megatron interrupted him with the back of his servo, slapping it across Soundwave’s faceplate. “I don’t want to hear your excuses! Get out of my sight! Because of this failure, we’re now even _more_ in need than we were before!”

Soundwave stood there in shock for half a second before his legs carried him out of the room on instinct. His mind raced as the door shut behind him and he raised a servo to gingerly touch the part of his mask where he’d been backhanded. Although the mask had protected him from the blow, it still hurt quite a lot. Megatron… had actually _hit_ him. _Him_! Soundwave! Punishments of this calibre were common to give to someone like _Starscream_ , not the ever-so-loyal communications officer. Why…?

The tape deck’s optics began to feel wet on their underside. This was bad. He needed to go someplace private. Soundwave picked up speed and bolted for his personal quarters, seriously trying to hold it together for just long enough that he could make it. Blessedly, he made it. As soon as he was in, he locked the door behind him, then proceeded to collapse in his armchair, part his mask, and softly sob into his servos. After all Soundwave had done, all the support and successes he brought to the Decepticon army, how could his beloved commander have _hit_ him like that?

Soundwave didn’t know for how long he’d been crying, but after a while somebody made an attempt to open the door. Likely the twins. He made no move to get up and merely prayed that they wouldn’t try anymore. That they would go away. They must not have wanted in too badly, because there was murmuring coming from behind the door, but neither of them raised their voices to call through. And then the murmuring stopped and all was silent again except for the sound of Soundwave’s quiet weeping. Perhaps five minutes passed before a jarring knock came to the door.

“Soundwave?” Thundercracker called through. “Are you alright?”

As silently as possible, Soundwave attempted to put an end to his crying and cleared his throat. “ **Condition** : **fine**. **Concern** : **unwarranted** ,” he stated.

“Can I come in?”

“ **Negative** ,” he said firmly. “ **Attend to your other duties**.”

There was hesitation before the seeker gently tried again. “Soundwave…? Please…?”

The communications officer put on an irritated expression and finally moved to open the door with reluctance. He hoped the sour look would ward Thundercracker away the minute he saw it, but instead the seeker took one look at it, then entered and shut the door behind him.

“The report went that badly, huh?” He asked, fixing Soundwave with a concerned look.

Soundwave winced and redirected his gaze to the floor. “… **Affirmative** … **Megatron expressed great displeasure** …”

Thundercracker grunted with a hint of grumpiness, furrowing his optic ridges. “If he wanted success, he should’ve sent more of us and done more research on the planet. He didn’t take enough measures needed for us to succeed.”

“ **Even so** , **he does not tolerate failure** …”

“Soundwave, the failure was on _his_ part, not ours!” Thundercracker exclaimed. “Our trip was doomed to fail from the start!”

The communications officer glowered at him. “ **You will not speak of Megatron in such a way**. **This was my fault**. **I should have devised a strategy to enable** **us a chance at obtaining the energy needed**.”

The seeker scowled with disbelief. “Primus, are you even _listening_ to yourself? If you hadn’t called the retreat and told us not to engage, we’d have all _died_ , Soundwave. Frenzy, Rumble, Buzzsaw, you—”

“ **Megatron expects** _ **more**_ **from us**!”

“Why do you put him on a pedestal and worship him?!” Thundercracker shouted. “He takes you for granted! He _doesn’t love_ you!”

Soundwave recoiled with shock upon hearing the seeker shout that at him. _‘He_ _ **doesn’t love**_ _you!’_ Fresh tears welled up under Soundwave’s optics and leaked down his face, easing the seeker’s expression to one of empathy. Thundercracker reached out to touch him, but Soundwave turned his back to him and walked a few paces away. The tape deck felt the hurt emotions wafting from the blue seeker but ignored them.

“Soundwave, I…” He stammered. “I’m sorry, I just… You don’t understand how much this hurts… To watch you work so _hard_ to please him, only for him to just throw you a small ‘good job’ and continue on as he was. You run yourself ragged for him. And he doesn’t love you…” He heard Thundercracker step towards him, then suddenly felt his servo gently take hold of his own. Soundwave turned to look at him. “Not in the way I do…” The seeker murmured.

Soundwave stared at him, then was startled as he was suddenly pulled in close to the blue seeker. Before he had time to figure out what was going on, he found himself and Thundercracker locked together by the lips. The tape deck’s mind raced again, struggling to keep up with all the twists and turns that had been presenting themselves today. Once the initial shock was over, Soundwave had half a mind to break the kiss and slap Thundercracker for his audacity before forcing him back out.

However… this was… pleasant. It was warm and soft. The way Thundercracker held him was reverent and respectful, yet intimate. It was every way Soundwave wished Megatron would treat him. And yet, it wasn’t coming from the warlord. It was coming from this lowly soldier, who had suddenly grown interested in sticking around Soundwave as much as possible after their sudden revival aboard the Ark. After a few moments, Thundercracker broke the kiss, but continued to hold Soundwave close. They both stared into each other’s optics, unsure what to say or do after that.

Then the seeker’s optics widened with mortification. “Ahh…!”

“ **What**?” Soundwave inquired.

Tears welled up underneath Thundercracker’s optics and promptly spilled down his face. “I-I can’t believe I just said all that…! A-And I kissed you…! I’ve wanted to do that for so long and now I did, but I don’t even know if you wanted it or liked it! You probably don’t even want me near you after that!”

Soundwave cocked an optic ridge at him. The seeker was crying over kissing him? Strange plane. Soundwave shook his head, then reached up and clutched the sides of Thundercracker’s head. “ **Worries** : **unnecessary**. **The kiss was** … **startling** … **but received on good terms**.”

The seeker stared at him. “So you don’t hate me?”

“ **Negative**. **Affection** … **appreciated**. **Words of support** : **touching**.”

The tape deck felt a huge wave of relief crash over Thundercracker and grunted as the seeker hugged him tighter and cried harder. “Vector Sigma, thank you! I love you, Soundwave. I know you prefer Megatron over me, b-but I had to say something.”

“ **If that is how you truly feel about me** ,” Soundwave started slowly, “ **then I will attempt to meet you halfway**. **I will try to return your feelings of affection**. … **And I will not pretend that I do not appreciate your past help and companionship** , **Thundercracker**. **Your dedication to my cassetticons means a great deal to me**.”

“It’s nothing,” Thundercracker blushed, smiling bashfully before letting go of Soundwave and hurriedly wiping away at his tears to pull himself together. “Now, we really should get you to the medbay. That anti-gravity apparatus isn’t going to fix itself.”

With a small nod, Soundwave shut his mask and followed Thundercracker out of his room, then walked side-by-side with him to the medbay, letting the seeker slip his servo around Soundwave’s and grasp it as they walked.

**Author's Note:**

> I need more Soundwave and Thundercracker content, so I made some myself. This was also an excuse for me to write the cassetticon twins crying and acting like proper children for once.
> 
> For people who want another Soundwave/Thundercracker fic, I recommend checking this one out by TheThreeofDiamonds: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28817664


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